ALLOCATION OF BED SPACES BASED ON SEGMENTED BALLOTING – DSA BY SOLOMON OLADIPUPO

The Dean of Student Affairs (DSA), Prof. Ademola Adeleke, has revealed why all students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) do not get bed space in their hall of residence. According to Adeleke, a particular number of bed spaces are allocated to every department, level and faculties in a system he tagged ‘segmented or proportional balloting.’

Professor Adeleke, the dean explained that segmented balloting meant that students actually ballot for the maximum number of spaces allocated to their department and level. He said, “To make it very fair and to accommodate all departments, what we did was segmented balloting. The total number of bed spaces we have, minus Sodeinde, is 7834”.

“What we did then was to divide this number proportionally among departments and levels”.

“For illustrative purposes for instance, we will allocate a particular segment of bed space across genders and across the halls for a particular department and within that department, for a particular level”.

“Meaning that History, for instance, which has 200, 300 and 400 level students—minus the freshers—we will allocate a particular number to 200 level History, a particular number to 300 level History, a particular
number to 400 level History, and [this is]replicated across all departments based on the number of students that each department and each level has.”

“Therefore when students ballot, you are actually balloting for the maximum number of spaces allocated for that department and certain level not for all the 7,836 bed spaces.”

Meanwhile, Professor Adeleke has said that half of the El-Kanemi hostel which contains about1000 bed spaces have been constructed and is set to take in students. “We could add at least an additional 500 bed spaces very soon that we can allocate to students,” he added.

Adeleke also stated that the university has thrown its doors open for Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) hostels. He, however, noted that the Student Affairs Division does not have the mandate to build bed spaces because “Federal Government owns the university, it provides fund for infrastructure”.

“But I know that the university has in fact made itself open to proposal from private entrepreneurs for BOT hostels”.

“Quite a few have come forward and hopefully some of these companies might, at the end of the day, succeed in providing the additional bed space that we need”, he added.